Lake & mountains · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes · Altitude 465 m
Annecy
Canals, a prison on an island and a lake clear enough to swim in, with the Alps standing right at the end of the street.
Why go
Paris has the Seine; Annecy has a mountain lake you can actually swim in, ringed by peaks you can climb before lunch. The old town is small enough to cross in ten minutes, threaded with canals of the Thiou, and its history is Savoyard rather than French: counts of Geneva, dukes of Savoy, a bishop in exile from Calvin’s city. Come for the water and the light, and leave the city noise far behind.
History
People lived on these shores long before there was a town: traces of lakeside villages go back to the third millennium BC, and the Romans had a small market town, Boutae, on the plain north of today’s centre. The medieval town grew later, at the foot of a castle on the last spur of the Semnoz mountain, where the Thiou drains the lake.
From the late twelfth century the counts of Geneva, at odds with the bishops of Geneva, made Annecy their seat. The last of the line, Robert of Geneva, was born in the castle and became Clement VII, the first Avignon pope of the Great Schism. In 1401 the county passed to the house of Savoy, and for much of the next two and a half centuries Annecy was the capital of a Savoyard appanage held by younger sons, the Genevois-Nemours branch among them.
The Reformation changed the town’s role. When Geneva turned Protestant in the 1530s, its Catholic bishop and canons moved to Annecy, which became a front-line town of the Counter-Reformation. Francis de Sales, bishop from 1602 to 1622, preached, wrote and in 1610 founded the Visitation order with Jeanne de Chantal; both are honoured in the basilica above the town.
Annecy was French during the Revolution and Empire, went back to the kingdom of Sardinia in 1815, and became French for good with the annexation of Savoy in 1860, when it was made the prefecture of the new Haute-Savoie. Its canals once turned the wheels of mills and silk works; today they mostly carry reflections, and since 1960 the town has hosted one of the world’s best-known animated film festivals.
What to see
Palais de l’Isle
The twelfth-century stone hull moored in the middle of the Thiou is the picture everyone takes, and for good reason. It served as courthouse and above all as prison, again during the Second World War. Inside, a heritage centre tells the town’s story; outside, walk around both sides of the canal to see it from every angle.
Château d’Annecy
The castle of the counts of Geneva and later the Genevois-Nemours dukes sits on its rock above the old town. It now holds the municipal museum and an observatory devoted to Alpine lakes, and its terrace gives the best free view down over the roofs to the water.
The old town canals
The Thiou and the Vassé canals run between arcaded houses, flower boxes and footbridges. Go early in the morning, before the terraces fill: the water is glassy, the light comes in low over the Semnoz, and you can hear the current.
The lake shore and the Jardins de l’Europe
A few steps from the old town the view opens onto the lake and the mountains of the Bauges and the Tournette. Walk the tree-lined shore past the gardens and the Pâquier lawn, then rent a pedalo or simply sit and watch the light change on the water.
Basilica of the Visitation
On the hillside above town, this twentieth-century basilica keeps the relics of Francis de Sales and Jeanne de Chantal, the pair who founded the Visitation order here. Even if churches are not your thing, the climb rewards you with a wide view over the town and the lake.
Climate
Météo-France normals 1991-2020, station Thones (630 m, 15.2 km away).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °C | 4.1 | 6.4 | 11.9 | 16.1 | 20.2 | 24.3 | 26.5 | 26.1 | 21.1 | 15.6 | 8.7 | 4.6 |
| Low °C | -2.8 | -2.4 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 8.0 | 11.5 | 13.3 | 13.1 | 9.7 | 6.2 | 1.4 | -1.9 |
| Rain (mm) | 163 | 133 | 142 | 127 | 146 | 133 | 138 | 144 | 137 | 150 | 164 | 196 |
| Rain days | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
Timeline
- 1st c. Roman market town of Boutae on the plain north of the lake
- 12th c. Stone house built on the island in the Thiou, the future Palais de l’Isle
- 1401 The county of Geneva passes to the house of Savoy
- 1530s The Catholic bishop of Geneva and his canons settle in Annecy
- 1610 Francis de Sales and Jeanne de Chantal found the Visitation order
- 1860 Savoy is annexed to France; Annecy becomes prefecture of Haute-Savoie
- 1960 First Annecy animated film festival
Uncertain or disputed
- Sources differ on when the bishopric of Geneva moved to Annecy: 1535 in some, 1536 for the canons’ arrival in others, with bishops only residing permanently from 1568. We say ‘the 1530s'.
- The Palais de l’Isle is commonly dated to the twelfth century; one source gives 1132 for a fortified house on the island, which may or may not be the present building’s core.
Crowds: Very busy in season. July and August, summer weekends and the June animation festival fill the old town and the lake shore; come in May, late September or on a winter weekday, and walk the canals before nine. (editorial judgement)
Protected food & drink from here
AOP and IGP products whose official area includes this commune (INAO). Regional food: AOP & IGP →
Cheese
- Emmental de Savoie IGP · pressed cooked cheese
- Gruyère IGP · pressed cooked cheese
- Raclette de Savoie IGP · pressed uncooked cheese
- Tomme de Savoie IGP · pressed uncooked cheese
Fruit, vegetables & nuts
- Pommes et Poires de Savoie ou Pommes de Savoie ou Poires de Savoie IGP · apples or pears
Cider & spirits
- Génépi des Alpes IG · liqueur
Festivals within 15 km
From the Ministry of Culture’s national list; it gives a season, not dates.
| Festival | Discipline | Season |
|---|---|---|
| 10 sur 10 Annecy | Mixed | 21 Jun – 5 Sep |
| Annecy cinéma italien Annecy | Film | 6 Sep – 31 Dec |
| Annecy paysages Annecy | Visual & digital arts | 21 Jun – 5 Sep |
| Arca Blues festival Annecy | Music | 6 Sep – 31 Dec |
| Attention les feuilles ! Meythet | Music | 6 Sep – 31 Dec |
| Birthday festival Annecy | Music | 6 Sep – 31 Dec |
| Coup de théâtre Annecy | Theatre, dance & street arts | 6 Sep – 31 Dec |
| Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy Annecy | Film | 1 Jan – 20 Jun |
| Hors Pistes Annecy | Music | 1 Jan – 20 Jun |
| Imperial Live festival Annecy | Music | 21 Jun – 5 Sep |
| Jazz aux Carrés Annecy | Music | – |
| Jazzcontreband Annecy | Music | 6 Sep – 31 Dec |
| L'esprit des Voix Annecy | Music | 21 Jun – 5 Sep |
| Lac In Blue Annecy | Music | 1 Jan – 20 Jun |
| Le bruit de la neige Annecy | Music | 6 Sep – 31 Dec |
| Le grand bain Cran-Gevrier | Theatre, dance & street arts | 1 Jan – 20 Jun |
+ 12 — Festivals →
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Sources
Original text. Train times computed from SNCF timetables (ODbL); climate Météo-France; products INAO; festivals Ministry of Culture. Methodology.